Chennai, Jul 5 (IANS): While the Meenakshi Sundareswari Amman temple at Madurai is building a swimming pool for its elephant, Parvati, Subramanian Swamy temple and Kallazhagar temples in the district already have pools for their elephants.

The Meenakshi Sundareswari Amman temple has started constructing a swimming pool at a cost of Rs 23 lakhs in the premises of the temple and almost 70 percent of the work is over. The pool would be thrown open for Parvati to swim and wallow in, in two weeks' time.

The Madras High Court in a recent order directed temples to provide their elephants with their natural habitat and the move of the Meenakshi Sundareswari Amman temple to construct a swimming pool is part of this.

Subramaniaswamy temple, Madurai has already built a swimming pool for its elephant Deivanai with an enclosed walking area for it. M. Ramaswamy, Deputy Commissioner of Kallazhagar temple, said that they have sent a proposal to the HR&CE department to allow its elephant, Sundaravalli, to take a stroll through the temple-owned mango orchid. The temple already has a pool for Sundaravallai.